Tallywag: An Intelligently Small, Simple Tally and Record-Keeping App

Tallywag: An Intelligently Small, Simple Tally and Record-Keeping App

The Blimp Factory duo of Barry Lachapelle and Jason Byck created their inaugural app Tallywag to help total those events and curiosities you otherwise might overlook or forget.

Inquiring, "Do you ever ask yourself questions that seem impossible to answer?", they promise to help you remember those moments you might want to keep track of. Helping to answer queries such as "How many more butterflies than birds did I see last summer?", or "How many more brown Ewoks are there than grey in Return of the Jedi". Important stuff!

Those tallies may or may not sound frivolous to you, but this app comes in handy, especially if you're trying to increase/decrease occurrences of events in your life. The app lets you tally events in real time and reference past tallies in infographic form. Tally up to four items per group, and rotate the phone in counting mode to reveal insightful graphics and statistics.

In fact, the creators envision the app aiding in self-actualization—They "have been using it mostly as a self-improvement tool. Everyone loves to learn about themselves. This is how we had the idea of infographics—how many beers we drank versus hours spent at the gym."

The app could fill either a curious and playful desire or become a productive tool. Track your coffee consumption for the past year. How many cups have you purchased vs. brewed vs. consumed with someone else? Note how many times you've heard buzzwords throughout the year, or how often that one person says "like" during her conversations. How many red lights do you run each year? How many tasks did you complete today? How often has the donut shop run out of your favorite donut? The potential is limited only by your desire and imagination. The simple interface makes it worth using.

Tallywag started out as a discussion at The Blimp Factory about working on small ideas. "It's easy to come up with big ideas when you have infrastructure, staff and millions in the bank. Having none of these, we started thinking at a very basic level of what we could create and landed on counting. We knew we could add a little fun to one of the most basic of human functions. And, everyone loves a good infographic."

When asked what they hope a user will gain/experience using Tallywag, Barry and Jason say, "We hope that Tallywag users use it to learn about themselves, the people and world around them. We want them to have fun while finding those little patterns below the surface.

Ward Andrews

Hi, I'm Ward Andrews. I started Design.org in 2009, you can read about why here. Thanks for participating in the Design.org Community. I also run an interactive agency called Drawbackwards. I love basketball, electronic music and creating experiences that improve daily life. You can follow me on Twitter @wardandrews.